Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Well, last monday i got a phone call telling me that i had to goto William Creek for a week. I cant tell you how much a phone call like this sinks even the highest spirits. Doing time in remote Australia can test anyone. So, i wont say i was negative about it, but my spirits were definately lifted when i found out another pilot i work with was going down with me. On top of that they didnt explain that id be flying for the week as well.

We were sent down to help a company out doing scenic flights over Lake Eyre in South Australia. All their pilots had run out of duty and hours and 2 planes needed maintenance. Its about 340nm to William Creek from Alice Springs.

So when i arrived it was dark, and met the owner and got set up in one of the houses they had. I should let you know, William Creek has literally a pub, a campground and the two houses that the company doing scenics owned. So its very remote, located on the Oodnadatta track, between Coober Pedy and Marree.

Here is a photo of the William Creek pub. The bloke on the left is Rich, who is an awesome bloke and hope i can somehow keep in contact with him.

Anyway all things considered, i had a ball! I was well looked after, good meals and accomodation, good fun with the boys that worked there full time, made some friends and learnt how to ride a quad bike. The flying and scenery was amazing to put lightly, so i didnt mind doing the scenic flying, although its not my first choice. I hate cramming 5 tourists into a C210. However, they all seemed to enjoy it, and i got to have some fun flying and a good change from doing mailruns every week! I can say that if i was looking for a first job all over again, i would definately consider this company, as they looked after their pilots, good flying and overall a lot of fun.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Not sure what i am going to post about, so i thought i would collect some random photos of the night flying and overnights i have done recently.

Here are some photos of my accomodation whilst i was in Lajamanu, which is also known as Hooker Creek. Apparently i was lucky to get this accomodation and the other facilities are quite a bit more rundown. I guess i was very lucky that it wasnt too hot and wasnt in summer,

I have been trying to get some night hours so when i have early departures i try to leave an hour or more earlier to get some night time. Same as a late departure, i will wait around till dark. Sometimes it doesnt feel the best to do in a single engine plane, but i guess the plane doesn't know it's night time.

These photos are a pictures of me flying home from Warburton, which is around 420 something nautical miles away. When IFR we go via waypoint rooks, Ayers Rock and arntu. The photos i'm going to post arent that clear, but its hard to get a good shot at night without a tripod and while flying a plane!

Alice rwy 12 ILS.

The next photo is primarily for my dad. Its a picture of some Bluff thingy he asked me about, and although i know the name of it, it eludes me everytime i think of it go to talk about it, but for him here it is!

I also recently did a tour of Giles meteorological station which is right near the community of Warakurna, which isnt too far from Warburton. I got the tour as i was flying a guy who is responsible for fixing some of the gear they have down there. Was an interesting day and i learnt a lot. I also had the absolute correct winds from the weather balloon they lauched earlier to me arriving, so i didnt need to get any extra fuel thanks to that knowledge, which worked out well as the bowser they have at Giles was broken.

The last photo i will leave you with is sunrise inbound to Tennant Creek. I cant remember what charter or mailrun this was, but its a cool photo and made getting up at around 3am worth it.

About Me

Im a commercial pilot, 28 years old, flying for a regional airline in Sydney, Australia.
So far i have flown around the Kimberley's in Western Australa, Alice Springs and the central Australian outback, Darwin and the top-end of Australia. I've finally come home, and living my dream of being a commercial airline pilot. My current plane is the Dash-8-Q400.